Bellissimo! Master the art of classic Italian cooking

Pour 3 cups of water into a saucepan, add the carrot, onion quarter, and celery stalk, and bring to a boil. Trim the chicken breast clean of any bits of skin and fat and drop it into the pot with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over moderate heat at a slow boil for 10 minutes, then retrieve the breast with a slotted spoon or with tongs and make an incision in the thickest part of it to see whether it is fully cooked or still slightly raw. In the latter case return it to the pot and cook at a leisurely boil for another 3 or 4 minutes. Remove the breast and set it aside to cool, but do not discard the broth it has produced, although you won’t be using it for this recipe.

Marcella Says: To keep the chicken broth for future use in a soup or in making risotto, fill ice cube trays with it and freeze it. When frozen solid, unmold the cubes and store them in the freezer in plastic bags with an airtight zipper closure.

Pit the olives, put them in the bowl of a food processor with the olive oil, and process to a creamy consistency. Do not remove the olive paste from the bowl.

Cut the chicken breast into 1-inch pieces and add them to the processor bowl with the butter, the nutmeg, the grated lemon peel, and liberal grindings of black pepper. Process to a creamy consistency. Taste and correct for salt.

Scoop the mixture out of the processor bowl and onto a plate, and mold it into a thin brick shape. Wrap with plastic film and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or no longer than 5 days.

Marcella Says: Ideally, you should be using pork jowl — guanciale — that has been cured but not smoked. If you have a store near you that carries it, buy it instead of pancetta. Pork jowl is available online, but it is expensive unless you order a lot of other items, as it must be shipped express overnight.  In my supermarket, I have occasionally come across something vaguely like it, called pork side meat, and that would be good to use, too.

Cut each pepper lengthwise along the creases, remove the stem, seeds, and pithy core, then skin with a swivel-blade vegetable peeler. Cut into 1- to 1-1/2–inch pieces.

Wash the chicken pieces under cold running water and pat thoroughly dry with kitchen towels. Pour the olive oil into a 12-inch sauté pan, add the garlic cloves, the pancetta or other cured pork you may be using, and the chili pepper and turn on the heat to high. Cook the garlic, stirring it two or three times, until it becomes colored a very pale gold, add the chicken pieces and brown them on both sides.
Remove the 4 breast pieces from the pan, and transfer them to a plate. Pour in the white wine, and let it bubble away for about 1 minute. Add the green pepper pieces and cook them for 4 to 5 minutes, turning them over once or twice.

Add the tomatoes with their juice, reduce the heat down to very low, and cover the pan.  Cook for about 40 minutes, then return the breast pieces to the pan and turn them over once or twice to coat them well. Cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes.  The chicken is done when the meat come easily off the bone, not any sooner. Transfer the fricassee to the warm serving platter and serve at once.

Ahead-of-Time Note: If you intend to have the chicken for dinner, you can cook it through to the end as early as the morning of the same day. Reheat it gently in the pan just before serving. You may also refrigerate it in a tightly sealed container for 2 or 3 days.  Bring it back to room temperature before reheating.

Split open each date lengthwise on just one side, leaving the other hinged.  If the dates have pits, use the tip of a paring knife to pry them out.

Stuff each date with a tiny scoop of mascarpone, about the size of a grape, then partially close the date over the cheese.  Stuff the remaining dates in the same manner.  Place the stuffed dates on a rimmed serving plate and refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.